Tag Archives: Opinion

This post is from my personal perspective. It is a bit more controversial/religious but no less opinionated than many of my other posts on this blog. The news lately in Seattle is filled with information about a vice principal of a Catholic high school who was fired/resigned because of his marriage to his partner. The Vice Principal was gay. He married his partner. The students protested over winter break. Other staff/contractor types have come out and said they are marrying their partners.

Many churches, including one I attend, is very vocal about homosexuality as a life style. There are others who embrace and show love to people of this orientation. It is hard to find a politician, and we KNOW they lie through their teeth to get votes, who aligns with all our beliefs. So I find it equally hard to find a church who aligns with all my beliefs. I think of myself as a woman of God, who tries and frequently stumbles on her quest to become a better Godly wife, mother and co-worker.

But, I have a problem when people say homosexuality affects marriages, degrades the moral fabric or is unnatural or [insert favorite argument against it here].

Marriage

In a world where divorce rates amongst heterosexual couples hover historically in the 50% range, I fail to see a valid argument why homosexual couples should be able to at least give marriage a shot. I see no potential impact to heterosexual marriages. I just see more opportunity to show people how to love your partner through the thick and thin, through the good times and bad. We all make mistakes, we all sin, we all have done things we shouldn’t have done. Sometimes the resolution for that is divorce, sometimes it isn’t, but that should be something every couple decides for themselves.

Morality

To those that say this lifestyle affects how the rest of us conduct our lives, get over it. I decide how I conduct my life. It is between me, myself, my husband and our conscious. Are we doing the right thing, are we setting a good example for our kids? Those are the questions I ask myself. Not, are those people going to affect me, because they aren’t. A bigger problem for society, especially as a mom of boys, things like: scandals like Steubenville (US) and stories of teen girls who are bullied after being raped (Canada). Sex parties after school, drinking and driving, and human trafficking are more derogatory to society than homosexuals getting married.

Unnatural

I am not homosexual. I’ve known people who are. I’ve had conversations with people who remember something always being a little ‘different’, something they might not have been able to figure out at a young age, but did as they matured. I’ve also read stories of scientists who are trying to figure out if this is nature/nurture or some combination thereof. I am not a scientist either. But my belief is this: God is all-knowing and all-encompassing; He wouldn’t make a mistake. I make mistakes. I make many mistakes, but He doesn’t. Which says to me, we has planned for people to be this way. I don’t totally get it, but I don’t need to. I am not even going to try and pretend to understand His plan, because whenever I try to plan my own life, He laughs. If God made us in his own image, and He made people in variety of skin colors, shapes and sizes, why can’t he have made people of different sexual orientations? It seems plausible to me.

This post is longer than many of my other posts, and not nearly as fun or lighthearted. But, I get so mad when people use a dogma or a philosophy to dismiss others. In my opinion, homosexuality, in and of itself, is not detrimental. Groups of people, regardless of sexuality, who intentionally hurt others (See examples above) are what harms society. I wish people would stop blaming a sexual orientation, when it is actions by all types of people against others that need the condemnation.

The article talks about how many parents use these pouches to ensure their toddlers and young children eat balanced meals. First, I would have to say – yes these products are geared toward very young children. I cant imagine sucking on one of these bad boys in a Jr High environment. But perhaps times have changed.

Yes, I agree that great nutrition is something that you should strive for. In the age-0ld battle of “eat your vegetables, or else…” teaching your kids to eat real food, not pureed, is a way to teach so many other things. I also understand life is chaotic, as the mother of 3 rambunctious boys, chaos can reign supreme at our house. During chaotic moments, throwing things into a backpack and running out the door requires extreme portability for snackage. But I have an issue if these food pouches become a staple of the everyday. We should not have to trick our kids to eat well. We should strive to to encourage an appreciation of a healthy life which includes great food.

Food Should Be Real

Food should be real. Food is more than just taste. Food is a cacophony of texture, taste, color and smell. In order to teach your children to appreciate the variety and literal spice of life, they need to see those different elements, which is hard to do when the food comes inside a little pouch and is sucked down while running from one place to another. If the child is used to ‘drinking’ their snacks or meals, will they return to real carrots, peas, spinach, apples and oranges when they are making their own lunches? Will they reach for an orange, orange juice, or orange soda after a squeezable/drinkable precedent has begun?

Food Takes Time

The preparation of food takes time. Sometimes time is what we don’t have. Cooking anything, is a labour of love. Sitting around a dinner table was a big important deal to my family. It was where we could talk about our day, things we read in the paper, back when it was printed on paper. We also packed our lunches for school, daycare the night before, but together. Mom would cut the carrots and I would bag them or something like that.

The new big thing in business right now is to hold “stand-ups” or regular, daily meetings with your staff. This is a way to check-in, make sure everyone is working on the right projects, can get answers to questions and most importantly, put everyone on the same page. Why should we treat our family, our children, any less important than our co-workers?

Food is Tradition

Perhaps my visceral reaction to this story and this product is the tradition element. I like techno gadgets as much as the next person, and love the functionality of my tablet computer, but I some days I mourn paper. I enjoyed the quiet times with my mom, packing lunches and learning how to cook. Now I enjoy when the baby runs to bring me the peanut butter for sandwiches, or the older boys help build the salads for dinner. Soon they will be my sou chefs, prepping the food. I enjoy building that legacy with my boys.

Strategy and Planning Can Fight Chaos

I understand life can be a little nutso. When life happens, it’s WAY easier to grab something pre-packaged and run with it. But, many of these emergencies can be preempted with a little planning.

Cut up the veggies and pack lunches the night before.

When cutting apples for lunches the night before, reassemble the apple with a heavy rubber band you save from the lettuce at the store – its a no preservative way to prevent browning